Reckoning with Jason Herbert
Conversations about history, pop culture, and the American story with award winning historian and outdoorsman Dr. Jason Herbert.
Episodes
This week Kate Sheppard and Thomas Lecaque drop in to talk about the greatest romcom of all time.
About our guests:
Dr. Kathleen Sheppard earned her PhD in History of Science from the University of Oklahoma in 2010. After a post-doctoral teaching fellowship at the American University in Cairo, she arrived at Missouri S&T in the fall of 2011. She teaches mainly survey courses on modern Western Civilizations, which is arguably one ...
This week Dr. Rachel Gross drops in to explain the rise of outdoor goods manufacturers and how they sold us on going outside.
About our guest:
Rachel Gross is an environmental, cultural, and public historian specializing in the history of the modern U.S. Her research and teaching interests center on business, consumer culture, and gender, and she is especially interested in what seemingly ordinary consumer goods tell us about identit...
This week historians John McManus and Waitman Beorn drop in to talk about the history behind Hamburger Hill, arguably the greatest war film we ever forgot.
About our guests:
John C. McManus is Curators’ Distinguished Professor of U.S. military history at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). This professorship is bestowed by the University of Missouri Board of Curators on the most outstanding scholars ...
This week author Matthew Davis drops in to talk about the complex history and significance of Mount Rushmore, including its ties to the Lakota people, the role of Gutzon Borglum, and the evolving meaning of the monument in contemporary society. We also dig in on the misconceptions surrounding Rushmore, the importance of indigenous perspectives, and the future of the site in terms of stewardship and representation.
About ou...
Sahara had everything going for it: a big cast led by ultra hot actors Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz, a devoted fan base of author Clive Cussler’s novels, and a big budget courtesy of Disney. And then it came out and flopped. But that doesn’t mean it’s still not fun and it doesn’t mean that we can’t have real conversations about history. In fact, the movie gives us the perfect opportunity to talk about artifact recovery an...
This week Max Perry Mueller drops in to talk about Wakara, a Ute man who shaped the modern American West. We also talk about the complexities of Native American identity, the impact of Manifest Destiny, and the ethical considerations in writing Native history. Max also highlights the importance of cultural exchange, environmental stewardship, and the ongoing struggles for repatriation and rematriation of Indigenous remains.
About ou...
2014's Pompeii is all over the place. Designed to be a Roman apocalypse story with a star making turn by Game of Thrones' Kit Harrington, Pompeii fizzled at the box office. But strangely, it's a phenomenal film to talk about the Roman empire and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Historian and archaeologist Dr. Steven Tuck joins in to talk everything this film gets right and wrong about Roman history. Easily one of our ...
How did a small town south of Denver emerge as the center of evangelical capitalism after World War II? Historian Dr. William Schultz explains how evangelicals' faith intertwined with a specific interpretation of Americanism, especially during the Cold War era, and how this allowed them to transition from the margins of society to the epicenter of conservative dialogue.
About our guest:
William Schultz is a historian of American...
It's a special podcast here at Reckoning. Early American historians Dr. Liz Covart, Dr. Michael Hattem, and Dr. Craig Bruce Smith joined me to live stream Ken Burns' new series The American Revolution and answer questions from people around the world. It's kind of like a Director's Commentary, only if the director was actually four people with degrees in history. This was a blast.
About our guest:
Dr. Liz Cov...
Houston, we have a podcast. Today, Apollo 13 author Jeffrey Kluger drops in to talk about the Apollo missions, what really made it on the film, and his new book, Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story.
About our guest:
Jeffrey Kluger, editor at large, oversees TIME's science and technology reporting. He has written or co-written more than 40 cover stories for the magazine and regularly contributes articles and comm...
Puerto Rico is the oldest colony in the world, something that must change, says Ed Morales. Today Ed drops in to talk about the history of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican diaspora, and how colonialism has hurt the island over the last 500 years.
About our guest:
Ed Morales is an author and journalist who has written for The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and the Guardian. He was staff writer at The Vill...
This week historian Oscar Winberg joins in to talk about the origins of All In The Family and how the politics of the 1970s were filtered through television's biggest show.
About our guest:
Dr. Oscar Winberg is a postdoctoral fellow at the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies and the John Morton Center for North American Studies at the University of Turku working on modern political history and mass media. He holds a PhD in hist...
Have you ever wondered what else was happening during the American Revolution? It turns out that the conflict was waged far beyond the shores of North America. Historian Richard Bell joins in today to talk about the unexpected participants in and ramifications of the American Revolution across the globe.
About our guest:
Richard Bell received his PhD from Harvard University and his BA from the University of Cambridge. His research in...
Toe pick! If you don't love The Cutting Edge, something is seriously wrong with you. This week Dart Adams and Paul Gagliardi drop in to talk about the history behind the 1992 cult classic and why we love it so damn much.
About our guests:
Dart Adams is a historian, journalist and a lecturer from Boston, MA. His work has appeared in various online & print publications including Complex, NPR, Mass Appeal, Okayplayer, DJ Booth...
This week legendary historian Dr. Karen Cox drops in to talk about her life, her work, and advise for historians and students as we enter this new era.
About our guest:
Karen L. Cox is an award-winning historian and a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians. She is the author of four books, the editor or co-editor of two volumes on southern history and has written numerous essays and articles, including an...
Dr. Craig Bruce Smith and I break down the trailer for the upcoming film, Young George Washington
About our guest:
Craig Bruce Smith is Professor of History at National Defense University in the Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) in Norfolk, VA. He authored American Honor: The Creation of the Nation’s Ideals during the Revolutionary Era and co-authored George Washington’s Lessons in Ethical Leadership.
Smith earned h...
This week Jelani Cobb drops in to talk about Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, what we don't see onscreen, the promise of Barack Obama, and the rise of Donald Trump. Plus, we preview his new book, Three or More is a Riot: Notes on How We Got Here, 2012-Present. This is a powerhouse episode.
About our guest:
Jelani Cobb joined the Columbia Journalism School faculty in 2016 and became Dean in 2022. He has been a staff writer at The...
Today Dr. Julia Brock joins in to talk about how hunting transformed and was transformed by the Modern South. We talk about dimensions of race, class, and sex and how they informed land stewarship and environmental conservation in the early twentieth century and how those changes affect us today.
About our guest:
Dr. Julia Brock is Associate Professor of History at the University of Alabama.
This week Dr. John McManus joins in to talk about how WWII films have evolved over time, including our picks for best and worst movies ever made about the war.
About our guest:
John C. McManus is Curators’ Distinguished Professor of U.S. military history at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). This professorship is bestowed by the University of Missouri Board of Curators on the most outstanding schola...
This week my friend Kevin Gannon drops in to talk about his career in history education, how education has changed, what to do about A.I., and the role of social media as a scholar. This is a cool conversation with one of the coolest dudes I know.
About our guest:
Dr. Kevin Gannon is the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFE) and Professor of History at Queens University of Charlotte.
From 2014-22, he...
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